MaSSSoftech

Part two of a two-part series (Access part one):Cloud computing is not just on the healthcare horizon. Partial and pure-play cloud computing architectures are already serving healthcare information technology needs in the U.S.Denver Health uses outsourced IT for a majority of its applications. Its service provider is Siemens, whose services meet most—but not all—of the essential characteristics in a definition of cloud computing released this summer by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. And while outsourcing dominates at Denver Health, it is not exclusive. “I still have 158 people in my shop even though 70% of our applications are outsourced,” said Denver Health Chief Information Officer Gregory Veltri. For example, Denver runs its cardiology and radiology systems on-site, but “all of our primary Siemens applications are outsourced.” That includes nurse documentation and speed-sensitive computerized physician order entry, which are run out of the Siemens data center in Malvern, Pa. But Veltri said it may be a long time before hospitals move to a pure cloud environment.